Mom hears about the Guwahati molestation, gives me The PUB lecture

My mother is a little on the spaced out side from her medications, and has a tendency to worry obsessively and forbid me all danger. Never mind that I almost never was under her “guidance” except for a few years.

For all her illness now, she is one lady with her brain screwed straight.

Today, I got a panicked call from her. She had heard about the Guwahati molestation. Please note, she has no clue on what bars or pubs are. Absolutely ignorant on anything related with drinking.

Portrait of a bartender by Hoakylan

It was meandering, but here are the salient points:

Don’t go to pubs. Look at the TV. See the kind of people that are there.

Pubs don’t care what people are up to. They just want them to drink. Their client may be making passes at girls every night, but they will not do anything unless there is a complaint by someone else. Don’t go on the glittering looks.

All the time you hear stories of girls getting kidnapped and raped and seduced and exploited when they go to pubs. The men who go to pubs don’t respect girls, they just want to use them. Not our kind of people.

Try and avoid all that writing you do. Look at what those people did to that Akhil Gogoi.

Don’t tell me your usual rubbish that there are laws. What did the police do to help that girl? Those people would not even be caught if it hadn’t drawn so much attention.

If you are with strangers, don’t talk to the media. There is no need. Someone else can do the interview.

Ask Raka to stop going to such places. He has enough problems without getting into such company.

Beta, I know you don’t go often, but I am your mother, it is my duty to tell you. Don’t go at all. Look at what they did to that poor girl. What is there to like about such people? Drink at home if you want to drink.

Sum total, nails pubs, people in pubs, people outside pubs, media, cops. And she is bang on right. Such a place is not safe for a girl.

No mention of character of girl and such. Girls shouldn’t be there, not because that means their character is bad, but the character of people who may harm them is bad.